Federal regulators are holding off a decision on 18-20-year-old truck drivers, eventually forcing a choice between big-fleet expansion and small-business wage protection.
In a spirited debate at the Chicago Traffic Club, two of the transportation industry’s most influential voices squared off on the challenges facing freight markets.
FreightWaves’ Craig Fuller and DAT’s Ken Adamo recently debated freight demand, CDL enforcement and whether automation will define the industry’s future.
FMCSA will decide on a rule to exempt specialized drivers from a hazardous materials endorsement – a move opposed by tank-truck companies over safety concerns.
The trucking industry finds itself mired in one of the most protracted freight recessions on record, a predicament exacerbated by a flood of capacity that has outstripped demand. This surplus stems from an industry with negligible barriers to entry, where supply can readily overshoot, challenging the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) persistent claim of a perpetual […]
The trucking industry’s “driver shortage” debate has persisted for decades. The American Trucking Associations (ATA) claims a chronic shortage since 1987, citing nine studies. Yet, researchers and industry experts argue the labor market functions well when freight demand is strong. A December 2024 study by Professors Jonathan Phares, Jason Miller, and Stephen Burks, published by […]
The trucking world keeps pushing a narrative of a driver shortage. Reality says the problem is more nuanced than that.
Let’s set the record straight: There is no widespread truck driver shortage in 2025. There. I said it. If you’ve been anywhere near the supply chain over the past four years, you know exactly why that sentence deserves to be said. Again. Louder. Yet here we are. This week, a headline on The Street screamed […]
OOIDA report challenges driver shortage narrative, argues turnover is the issue
Trucking industry experts weighed in during a debate at FreightWaves’ F3: Future of Freight Festival on whether there is a driver shortage or a driver retention problem.
A recent FMCSA-sponsored study looking at the impacts of pay and working conditions on long-distance truck and bus drivers also calls into question claims of a persistent driver shortage.
When drivers are recognized for their hard work, they’re more likely to feel satisfaction at their jobs, and it gives them a reason to work toward company goals.
A collapse in volumes, an overabundance of carriers in the market and rising operational costs have tested transportation providers’ endurance. All the while, companies continue to combat deep-rooted issues that plague the industry, especially the ongoing driver shortage. But it’s not all doom and gloom. If history and past trucking cycles tell us anything, the […]
FreightWaves spoke with research scientist David Correll about how much progress has been made toward addressing workforce challenges.
Canada has allocated $46 million in funding to recruit and train up to 2,600 new truck drivers and other transportation related jobs.
Tenstreet’s Job Store allows clients to post their openings across major job boards, partners, and social media websites from one central platform, seriously cutting down on the amount of time companies must spend fine-tuning, managing and checking up on listings.
Commercial truck driving is now one of the occupations included in Canada’s immigrant Express Entry program.
The American Trucking Associations puts the shortfall of truck drivers at 78,000 this year, down slightly from 2021 but still high.
Soaring diesel fuel prices rank as the trucking industry’s most critical issue, knocking the driver shortage from the top spot.
3-year program allows 18-20-year-olds to drive interstate under supervision
FMCSA’s Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program will analyze the safety benefits or hazards that young drivers pose to interstate commerce.
Changing how recruiters communicate with drivers from the very beginning is one of the simplest and most effective ways to tackle driver hiring issues.
Port X aims to create an environment where drivers feel like part of the greater team, not sequestered from it.
Open dialogue is critical to retaining and engaging drivers.
Attracting younger workers to trucking companies means investing in technology that eases wait times and routing and improves communications, experts said.
The way to create a winning situation for all is not by hiring more drivers but, according to Ranjan, by increasing driver utilization and reducing the trucking cost structure.
Automated trucks and buses are expected to number 1.2 million annually by 2032 compared with about 1,000 in testing today.
FreightWaves Founder and CEO Craig Fuller provides commentary/analysis on the trucking industry’s “driver shortage.”
In the market today, more and more companies in freight are turning to brokerage companies for help.
Werner Enterprises asserts that a five-year waiver affecting its driver trainees will fill cab seats and improve safety.
The U.S. DOT found that the truck parking shortage exists in every state and region, but it did not include dedicated funding for truck parking in the recent infrastructure bill.
The truck driver shortage in the U.K. and Europe is getting worse with cross-border traffic being interrupted by the Ukraine crisis and Ukrainians going home to defend their country.
Decreasing turnover rates and making companies more efficient requires job transparency to pull in the right people and maintaining a constant state of innovation to attract more people.
Waymo Via and C.H. Robinson are the latest dance partners seeking to choreograph autonomous trucking.
Suddath Global Logistics’ Andrew Lockwood and FreightWaves’ Kevin Hill discuss how to attract and retain drivers in the trucking industry.
Driving a big rig isn’t a vacation, nor is it as flexible as one would expect — there’s a job to do.
Haul’s Timothy Henry discusses how technology is combating the driver shortage.
As competition for truck drivers heats up, fleets need to take steps to improve their recruiting, hiring and onboarding processes to find candidates and get them into trucks.
The National Transportation Institute’s Leah Shaver discusses the importance of driver appreciation.
In a time when many trucking companies struggle to retain and hire drivers, the U.S. Xpress recruiting team is achieving double-digit, quarter-over-quarter hiring growth.
MIT’s David Correll and aifleet’s Marc El Khoury join Thomas Wasson on this episode of Loaded and Rolling to talk about the much-touted driver shortage.
Used truck prices continued to rise as 2021 ended with a short supply of late-model used trucks the main culprit, but there were other reasons too.
Trucking company owner and Texas House candidate Adam Blanchard joins the show to discuss a possible solution to the driver shortage.
JK Moving Services and Kido are two very different businesses, but both SMBs can teach other companies about how to weather a global crisis.
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) predicts the industry will be a record 80,000 drivers short in the next year.
Natasha Hammack of Wright Media joins the show to discuss truck driver recruiting solution HireMaster.
Recruiting and retention management has never been faster.
After a couple of oddball years, shippers and carriers alike are anxious to see how the market rebalances — or doesn’t — after the new year.
The American Transportation Research Institute’s Rebecca Brewster shares what the industry ranked as its top issues this year.
Reliance Partners’ Brian Runnels reacts to Central Freight’s closure and shares his thoughts on the drivers’ next steps on FreightWaves’ WHAT THE TRUCK?!?.
Even Before Autonomous Trucks, Fleets Can Double Their Capacity By Tom Kroswek, Vice President, Strategy & Business Development In a previous post, I overviewed how the Autonomous Relay NetworkSM can help carriers and shippers optimize their trucking service for autonomy. Now I want to explain more about how Locomation works with trucking companies to re-engineer their operating models […]
Speeding is more than breaking the law. The consequences are far-ranging.
In an industry reeling from early retirements and halted driving school programs, an effective strategy for recruiting and retaining drivers is more important than ever.
House Transportation Committee hearing on truck driver shortages In remarks to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, MIT Professor David Correll recently outlined yearslong research conducted by the MIT Freightlab, detailing a chronic underutilization of the American truck driver. Below are some highlights and reporting from the event. Interestingly there was additional research regarding […]
Truck drivers who started in their 50s and 60s share how they got into the industry, along with their experiences on the road.
Difficult application processes — including long forms and cluttered websites — tend to dissuade drivers from applying at all. In a field with more open positions than people to fill them, carriers cannot afford to lose a driver’s attention over an archaic application form.
F3 Virtual Experience trucking roundup Last week FreightWaves hosted the F3 Virtual Experience, which involved industry leaders discussing topics related to the future of freight, key factors impacting markets, industry trends and venture capital investments. Key topics included autonomous and electric vehicles, FreightTech and a demonstration of the new SONAR feature, the Trusted Rate Assessment […]
Insider transportation reporter Rachel Premack and FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller discuss the evolution of mainstream media coverage of the trucking industry.
Solo drivers working for large trucking companies will likely be exempt from the Biden administration’s vaccine requirement, the industry’s largest lobby group has confirmed.
HireRight’s Justin Reed joins the show to share the hard data behind the current state of recruiting during the pandemic.
Motor Carrier Act of 1980, OTR driver shortage, consumer confidence falls
Reliance Partners’ Robert Kaferle shares a few ways for fleets to retain their experienced workforce.
Trucking companies dispute the widely reported message that a driver shortage is largely to blame for the port congestion issues in California. In fact, drayage companies are laying off drivers because of port delays.
In the disruptive world of autonomous trucking, TuSimple says it has to haul freight to prove the technology works.
Bob Costello, chief economist and SVP at the American Trucking Associations, joins the show to discuss the many factors compounding the driver shortage as the pandemic continues.
Companies across the industry have tried various ways to attract and retain drivers, offering everything from sign-on bonuses to tuition reimbursement. Despite these incentives, it can be difficult to secure those drivers in an industry that is constantly competing with itself.
After a big week for same-day delivery services, here’s a look at the past, present and future of the same-day market.
Trucking companies and trade associations say the shortfall in qualified drivers is hitting specialty segments especially hard, affecting revenue and growth.
Walmart’s new white label delivery service could have far-reaching implications for the last mile.
Drivers who complete this short, seven-question survey can enter their email address for a chance to win a $70 Visa gift card.
Retaining drivers — not increasing the driver pool — is the way to address supply chain disruption, OOIDA asserts.
Many organizations, including the Future Leaders of Indiana, are partnering with the Next Generation in Trucking Association to attract younger people to trucking.
Last-mile delivery firms say a lack of drivers is their main concern, but more are finding that smartphones are a critical technology to help retain drivers and improve operational efficiencies.
GCCA’s Lowell Randel explains how industry and government can fix driver shortages, port congestion and cyber threats.
Jeremy Reymer speaks with Dennis Cooke, president and CEO of TransForce Group, about closing the driver shortage gap.
“Our logistics segment has been thriving and growing, including contract logistics and port services, with the largest contributor being brokerage,” says Schneider CEO.
Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Mexico facing severe shortage of truck drivers; Mexico creates new national customs agency; CBP expands Santa Teresa port of entry cargo capacity; and DHL Express to invest $360M in Americas infrastructure.
Supply chain bottlenecks are raising red flags for inflation down the road.
Leased owner-operators and company drivers could be looking to strike gold on their own in a strong trucking market, Vise says.
Professional drivers help teach their robotic successors while evangelizing for the technology among truckers who feel threatened.
The number of drivers prohibited from driving due to drugs matches an estimated shortfall of drivers needed to keep up with freight demand.
A new terminal in Fort Worth, Texas, will let TuSimple extend its autonomous trucking network eastward to North Carolina and Florida.
On today’s episode, Jeremy Reymer, founder and CEO of DriverReach, speaks with Carter Express Director of Recruiting Dave Chesterman about the unique challenges the driver shortage brings.
Turning to younger drivers may be the key to assuring the success of the next generation of truckers.
On today’s episode of Taking the Hire Road, DriverReach founder and CEO Jeremy Reymer speaks with Lindsey Trent, founder of The Next Generation in Trucking Association, about her organization as well as how to improve the trucking industry’s image.
The coronavirus pandemic inspired retirement-age drivers to leave the industry en masse while also shutting down driving schools for months on end, exacerbating the existing shortage.
Government Agency
Seeks Long-haul Truckers
for Nuclear Materials
Like the rest of the economy, gig economy companies are struggling to find drivers, and that could have a negative impact on the growth opportunity for the industry moving forward.
There may not be an end in sight for the driver shortage, but holistic supply chain solutions are well-positioned to help shippers and carriers alike weather the storm.
Driver surveys examining turnover rates have consistently shown that drivers value three things: pay, time and respect.
One of the results of the 2017-18 freight market boom was an increase in the cost of operating that held over into a slower 2019 when capacity became abundant. Costs are on the rise once again as carriers struggle to find drivers to capture market share.
Switzerland had the highest average truck driver salary at more than $70,000 a year.
Reliance Partners’ Thom Albrecht comments on the industry’s recovery efforts and job growth figures, as well as his thoughts on increasing driver pay.
A. Bailey Wood reveals his vision and goals as the new head of the Commercial Vehicle Training Association.
“There is nothing worse than putting a driver in the truck who is going to drive 600 miles a day by himself and he is speculating that somebody either doesn’t care or isn’t listening or isn’t reacting to their needs,” said the president and CEO of Dart during the FreightWaves’ Enterprise Fleet Summit.
FATj and FreightWaves team up to visualize the driver shortage and what can be done to fix it.
Cross-border trade is strong but could be affected by everything from driver shortages to the freight imbalance to the Mexican peso in 2021. FreightWaves recently caught up with Troy Ryley and Jordan Dewart from Redwood Mexico, part of Redwood Logistics, a logistics platform company headquartered in Chicago. Redwood Logistics’ portfolio includes digital freight brokerage, freight […]
A FreightWaves survey of top election issues as viewed by motor carriers found the economy top of mind ahead of Tuesday’s election. Taxes and regulations tied for second.
Anthony and Zach discuss the increasing concerns over the driver shortage and how presidential elections influence the economy.
